


Failure to Communicate

by eveningstar477



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Astro Ambassadors, Concussions, F/M, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Missions Gone Wrong, Vomiting, angst? kinda?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 05:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26347960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveningstar477/pseuds/eveningstar477
Summary: Daniel, Daisy, and Kora have an unfortunate run in with an alien species that leaves Daniel concussed.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 15
Kudos: 55





	Failure to Communicate

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even sure what happens in this. It's just yet another excuse for some hurt comfort and character analysis, because everything I write turns into character analysis whether I want it to or not. :l
> 
> Warning for a very very brief, non-graphic mention of vomiting.

It wasn’t his fault. No, really - how was he supposed to know that this species would take offense at clapping, of all things?! 

“Daniel!! You were in charge of research!” Kora’s shout was followed by a grunt as she landed a solid roundhouse kick on another of their assailants.

….right. That clapping was punishable by lifetime imprisonment _probably_ should have come up. But it hadn’t, and now Daisy, Kora, and Daniel were fleeing (or attempting to flee - they were currently surrounded) from the royal family’s guards.

Daniel fired off a shot with his Icer, taking down one of the guards, and Kora left another unconscious with a well-placed blow to the temple. While Daisy could use her powers in a brawl, Kora generally avoided it unless it was life or death, since her powers were lethal. They really didn’t need to offend this species any more than they already had.

Fortunately for them, the guards didn’t have guns or lasers or anything equally deadly (they’d encountered plenty of lethal weapons even Fitz didn’t understand on their galactic travels) but used long metal staffs. While they wouldn’t kill you if you got hit, the length sure made them difficult to avoid. 

Suddenly, he heard Daisy cry “Behind y-“ and the world erupted into pain. He could do nothing but gasp before everything went black.

………………………..

Next thing he became aware of was a feminine voice, floating in and out, hands on his back, and another hand holding his. “—shhhh, don’t move. I need — check nothing’s wrong with your spine.” He felt an odd vibrating sensation in his back, and the voice above him let out a sigh of relief.

“Peg?” 

There was a disturbing pause in the movement and speech above him. Alarmed, he attempted to roll over, and this time the woman let him. He asked again, in an anxious, confused tone, “Peggy?!”

There was another shushing noise, then “No — Daisy — hear me?” Slowly, Daniel let his eyes flutter open, squinting against the light. There was a fuzzy figure; definitely not Peggy. Her hair was longer, and she didn’t have an accent. “It’s me, Daisy,” she said, and suddenly his brain caught up.

“Daisy?” he slurred, then noted, “’s bright” before squeezing his eyes closed again. On the upside, he was able to track the conversation better now. 

“You scared me, Daniel. You got hit pretty hard, but you’re not bleeding. Probably a concussion, though.”

Daniel hummed in agreement. He’d had enough concussions in the line of duty to recognize the symptoms. “Dizzy,” he mumbled. Just then, there was a clatter of feet from the hallway, and the hand that had been holding his suddenly vanished. He recognized the voice that followed, and assumed that the hand had also belonged to Kora. From far away, he caught only about half of what she said. “— more soldiers — coming — have to move, now.” 

The urgency in her voice catapulted his body in to movement, but his brain hadn’t quite caught up to the idea. He made an attempt to sit up, but the world lurched alarmingly, and black crept back into his vision as Daisy caught him by the shoulders.

“Whoa! Ok - Kora, you’re going to have to buy us some time, Daniel’s not ready to move fast yet. Can you fuse the door shut with your powers?”

Kora’s face lit up at her sister’s suggestion. “Yes! Ugh, why didn’t I think of that before?”

Daisy smiled. “Good. Now get over here and help me get Daniel up.” She turned back to him, still leaning against her chest with his eyes closed. “Do you think you’re ok to get up? We’ll go slow.”

Daniel groaned. “Not really sure I have a choice in the matter.” Daisy and Kora both tugged one of his arms over their shoulders, and eased him into a standing position. He swayed alarmingly, but mumbled “go” to them, aware of the pounding on the door growing more and more agitated. Kora’s trick wouldn’t hold forever.

They were almost to the hanger housing the Zephyr when Daniel stated “‘m gonna throw up” and then promptly made good on that promise, leaning over and splattering both his and Kora’s legs with sick and then going limp.

For a split second, Daisy was afraid that he’d passed out again, but she gave him a gentle shake and he straightened back up. He offered a pitiful “sorry,” but both women just assured him it was fine, and carefully navigated the rest of the way to the Zephyr.

“I got him, Kora,” Daisy said, and Kora darted off to the cockpit to initiate launch before they were well and truly trapped here.

Daisy helped Daniel to the couch, and was finally able to get a good look at him. He was ghostly pale with dark circles under his eyes, and he still looked a little green around the gills. 

“Are you still feeling sick?” Daniel nodded, so Daisy headed to the kitchen to grab a bucket and a glass of water. When she came back, Daniel was slumped against the back of the couch, his eyes closed and his breathing deepening. She hurried to kneel in front of him.

“Hey, hey, no, you can’t go to sleep yet. I need to make sure your concussion isn’t dangerous first.” Daniel blinked lazily at her, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. To her relief, his pupils seemed equally sized and he was tracking her finger fine. The head wound was just a bump, not a gash, so there was no chance of infection (space bacteria, it turned out, were nasty things).

The last thing was to check for any memory loss or lingering confusion. Daisy inquired, “How do you feel? Do you remember what happened?” 

Daniel scrunched up his face, “Yeah. We clapped, and then we were running - and fighting. Did somebody get me from behind?” At Daisy’s nod, he continued “And then I saw you.” He looked puzzled for a moment, and then cautiously said, “I called you Peggy, didn’t I?” Daisy nodded again, and Daniel looked embarrassed. “I’m so sorry - I guess last time I got knocked out on a case, she was there, and my brain just..” Daisy cut him off by moving to sit next to him and using a hand to turn his face towards her. 

“Daniel, you have nothing to apologize for. You were confused. We both have a romantic history, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I have good memories of Lincoln, I don’t want to forget them. And I don’t want you to forget Peggy either.”

Daniel gave her a lazy smile, then dropped his head onto her shoulder with a sigh. She laid her cheek on the top of his head, then reached her one arm around to play with his hair.

She heard him sigh in contentment, and mumble “‘m glad you’re here” before drifting off to sleep. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and let herself rest too.

**Author's Note:**

> Everything I write seems to end with people sleeping because I don't know how to end things XD. I hope you enjoyed! Comments make my day!!!! (even if it's just keyboard smashing or emojis)
> 
> Also, if someone could please lmk how to put italics in a fic, that would be fantastic: ao3 keeps losing them when I copy and paste in.


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